


The Wandering and The Lost

by Rookmoon



Category: Over the Garden Wall (Cartoon)
Genre: Beast Wirt, Body Horror, Choices are made, Fluff, Gen, He's a little creepy, Lost - Freeform, Oblivious Wirt, Sweet, Trees, but you like him anyways, don't wander the woods at night kids, forest, guardians of the forest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-08-19 16:55:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16538528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rookmoon/pseuds/Rookmoon
Summary: You get lost in the woods. Wirt finds you, as the Guardian knows all that happens in the forest.





	The Wandering and The Lost

     Wind brushed through the trees, ruffling leaves and stirring along the ground. A lone figure steps through down the path with quiet steps. Your feet crunch dead leaves on the ground as you wander, lost among the tangled branches and the dark. A shiver runs down your spine, tingling along your limbs, and driving off the coming cold a little bit longer.

     Moonlight does nothing to guide you. Looking around does nothing but confuse you. Maybe you passed this stream earlier. Maybe that rock looks a little familiar. You have no idea. Your flashlight had died a couple of hours ago, and things were starting to look bleak.

     That’s when you heard something else. Not really heard, but you definitely felt it. The hair on the back of your neck stood on end in that way it does when someone is watching you. You think you see a fleeting shadow, but it’s gone as soon as it appears and all you got was a glimpse. A wisp of his passing stirring grounded leaves into the air like a small breeze to signal his passing by.

     The shadow sends a chill down your spine. You’re lost, and the last thing you need right now is someone out there watching, waiting for something to happen.

     Another hurried glance confirms that you’re alone. You walk towards the trees, set on finding your way out, when you run into something.

     You look up, at the face of the shadow. The shadow is there. It looks like a guy in a costume, about your age. His face looks older, like he’s been in the forest for a lifetime, in spite of his youthfulness. You almost fall over, and he reaches to steady you. Fright takes over you as he pulls you closer. His warmth is inviting to your cold body, and the cloak is soft and worn.

     You stumbled away from him, falling on the ground. “W-Who are you?” You shriek.

     “I am the Guardian. Some called me Wirt when I was new, but that name is lost to me now.” His hands fall to his sides, and you get a better look at him.

     Wooden horns twist from his head and his eyes seem to glow in the low light of the lantern he carries. He holds out a careful hand and you reach towards it. He seems to be offering help.

     “What are you?” You ask, taking his hand and letting him hoist you to your feet.

     He’s stronger than he seems.

     “I am the guardian of this forest. I help lost souls… Like you, find their way.” He looks away, but you still feel his strange eyes burning into you.

     You get the feeling that something strange is happening. “I’m not lost, just a little turned around.”

     “We both know that isn’t true.” His little smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “I know you’ve been lost for a few hours. I hear everything that happens here.” His eyes glow brighter and he looks right at you. “I know all that happens here. Nothing hides from me.”

     You shiver, and the creature steps closer before settling his cloak around your shaking shoulders.

     He looks thinner without it. You revel in the warmth and take a step closer to him.

     “You’re not cold?” You ask, looking up at him.

     “No. I don’t get cold anymore. Not since… Not in a long time.”

     You wait for him to continue, but he turns and lets his lantern light the way.

     He walks away, into the trees, leaving you to follow on your own. “Home awaits.”

     Your eyes widen at the sound of it. You are more than happy to follow him if it means you’re going home.

     For another hour, there are no sounds, but leaves crunching beneath your feet. Not even bird calls.

     “Wirt?”

     His head turns, but he doesn’t stop walking.

     “Do you remember anything from before all of this?”

     Wirt stops, and you run into his back. He’s warmer than the cloak. He looks up, trying to remember. “No. Maybe there was something before this. All that matters now are the Lost and the Forest.”

     “If you’ve been here all this time, aren’t you lost as well?”

     “...No. This is my home.”

     The wind whips his hair around as a testament to the truth in his words, but something feels wrong about it to you. Wirt looks to close to human for that to be the whole story. You had come across weirder things that used to be human in this bazaar forest.

     Wirt continues forward. You trail behind him, watching closely as the light bobs before him. Was there something about this creature in particular that seemed important to you?

     Wirt walks past a tree, ducking under a low branch, and that’s when you saw it. A face, contorted in a silent scream. You flinch away from the startling face and fall onto a bush. Wirt turns towards you with that blank stare of his. He blinks when he sees you laying in the bush. A smile spreads across his face and he chuckles before offering a hand to help you.

     After trying to scramble out of the bush on your own, you sigh and reach to take his hand. He easily pulls you free.

     He offers no explanation for the face in the tree. You don’t notice, only feeling your face warm at your hand in his.

     You’re surprised when he doesn’t let go. Instead, he leads you through the trees by the hand. His hand is warm and comforting against your clammy skin.

     “There’s no need to be nervous. I’m here to help you.” He looks ahead, alert of everything around him. Apparently this includes you as well.

     Wirt steps over a log. You stumble over the same log.

     Why are you so clumsy today?

     Maybe it’s because of this stranger leading you somewhere safe after wandering around for what feels like days...even though it’s been night for most of it…

     You’re too busy thinking. You don’t notice Wirt stop until you bump into him. After you’ve stopped he turns and walks in a different direction.

     He must have a particular place in mind. You don’t remember telling him where you’re going. You can’t bring yourself to care, while you’re wearing his warm cloak and holding his hand. Crunchy leaves crackle under your feet. You take a deep breath of the chilly autumn air and sigh.

     “Are you getting sleepy?”

     How did he know?

     “Would you like me to carry you the rest of the way?” He turns and smiles softly at you. “I’m stronger than I look. It wouldn’t be any trouble at all.”

     You can’t find a reason to say no. You can’t find a reason to care if he carries you. All you can manage is a nod before a yawn escapes you.

     The Guardian bends down and hooks his arm behind your back and one behind your knees before he stands. You feel taller curled up against him. His swaying stride is comfortable and he’s so much warmer. You could curl up and sleep in his arms forever.

     Wait, that’s a creepy thought.

     You fade into dreams and Wirt is oblivious to your thoughts of him.

     Wirt adjusts you against his chest and you struggle to stay awake He can feel when you finally relax enough to fall asleep. He sighs when he feels your slow breathing against him, and he continues through the trees, on the way to the safest place he knows in the Unknown.

     Wirt steps past the stone markers, and into a particularly dense part of the forest. The only creatures here are harmless. It’s the only place that he would always be safe. Enough to be able to sleep better than when he’s wandering aimlessly around the forest. Maybe once in a while. Not that he sleeps a ton. He still finds it comforting to have that little patch of safety.

     His home.

\-------------------------

     When you wake again, you’re in a comfortable twist of branches that feels more like a hammock than anything else. A look around tells you that it’s still dark, but you see the glow of the lantern a little ways away.

     Wirt is sitting on a branch high off the ground, in the tree next to yours. He’s leaning against the trunk of the tree, looking out to the rest of the forest.

     You see that these trees are taller than the others in the forest. You don’t comment on it. Instead you choose to admire the view. Well, both views. Wirt looks particularly at peace, and the forest looks amazing from this height.

     Wirt speaks before you can mention wanting to stay.

     “You do not belong here. I will take you home.” His tone leaves no room to argue. He jumps from the tree, and you follow, climbing slowly.

     Wirt waits at the bottom.

     When your feet are touching solid ground once more, he starts walking. The lantern swings from a horn in time with his stride. You find yourself wanting him to carry you again.

     You walk for hours before you reach the edge of the woods. You see a familiar field. He takes your hand for a second before letting it fall away and stepping back into the trees.

     “Wait.” You feel the need to stop him before he leaves for good. “Is there any chance I might see you again?”

     He stops and turns back towards you, looking confused. “Why would you want that?”

     “Uh… because you seem like someone I might want to know better.”

     “I am a beast of the forest. There is no reason to become attached to me.”

     “Then why did you help me?”

     “You were lost. Either I help you find a way out, or you become part of these trees.” He looks up at the branches like they are both friends and enemies. You don’t remember the face from the night before.

     “What if I want to be lost with you?”

     That gets Wirt to turn towards you. He squints at you, suspicion written all over him. “You wouldn’t want that. I am meant to be alone. There is nothing to be done about it.”

     “I don’t think that’s true.” You step away from the field, and towards the trees. Towards Wirt. You don’t really know what you’re doing. Nor do you particularly care at the moment.

     “If that’s truly what you think, then you can stay with me for the rest of time.” He steps forward, and the lantern gleams in the daylight. “You can guard the forest with me, and we shall stay together, as one, for all of time.”

     That sounded a little terrifying, but you found that it fit him in an endearing way.

     “What should I do?”

     Wirt smiles, and you think you catch a glimpse of who he might have been before he became the Guardian. “You’ll see.”

     So, you follow. Time passes and he continues. The sun is setting by the time he leads you to a stone table in the center of the forest. Vines and trees twist around the small clearing and you know that something isn’t quite right here.

     “You will bear your lantern.” Wirt turns and you see something flicker behind his eyes. You start to change. Bark creaks up your skin and you feel something ache within you. It needs to be let out. You reach in. The skin on your chest parts like a curtain and you pull out a burning light. The bark shifts around you, settling on your head. Your eyes feel funny. So does your head.

     You can hear things. Strange things that you didn't know you could hear. In the distance, you think you hear faint footsteps.

     You want to undo whatever this is. You know that it’s too late. Much too late to back out now.

     The gleaming light in your hands feels heavy. You see an old, rusted lantern, abandoned at the base of the stone table. You nudge the light that you know is your soul into the opening. It flickers and burns brightly against the falling of night. You feel your name fall away, along with memories of those you are leaving behind. All that is left is that hollow burning. The ache, and some strange feeling for the boy standing before you.

     You are given a staff, for your lantern, if you should want it. You take it with shaking hands, and hang the lantern.

     Now, you are also a Guardian.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first try at OtGW. Hope you like it!
> 
> Beast Wirt is a little much for me right now, but I love the idea of it.


End file.
